<p>HOUMA -- Terrebonne officials are considering a billboard ban on a new road that </p><p>could eventually become a major thoroughfare.</p><p>At the suggestion of Interim Councilman Harold Lapeyre, the council defeated a </p><p>120-day ban on permits needed to erect billboards on the Valhi Boulevard </p><p>extension, a stretch of road that will eventually link to U.S. 90.</p><p>Lapeyre said he introduced the proposal on behalf of 10 to 15 constituents who’ve </p><p>complained to him through the years about billboards cluttering the landscape.</p><p>There’s some people who feel there’s a proliferation of billboards all over the </p><p>parish, particularly when it impacts single-family homes, Lapeyre said in an </p><p>interview prior to Monday night’s council meeting. In some areas I think it could be </p><p>done more tastefully. </p><p>The matter will be discussed at an upcoming Planning Commission meeting. </p><p>Officials must determine if it’s legal for the parish to institute a permanent ban and </p><p>if such a prohibition would be effective.</p><p>The temporary ban would prevent billboards along the extension, said Pat Gordon, </p><p>interim parish manager.</p><p>When the council enacted zoning, or land-use rules, along La. 311 and Martin </p><p>Luther King Boulevard in September, a ban on new billboards was included. </p><p>Existing billboards can remain for 10 years.</p><p>In other parts of Terrebonne, billboards are allowed on parish roads. They must be </p><p>at least 500 feet apart and 2 feet from the property line. The billboards can’t exceed </p><p>700 square feet in size or be more than 45 feet tall.</p><p>Lapeyre is a three-term councilman who is serving temporarily until a special </p><p>election is held to replace Leland Robichaux, who died of cancer this summer. </p><p>Lapeyre said he remembers some talk of regulating billboards a few years ago, but </p><p>those discussions just kind of died on the table, Lapeyre said. It’s worthy of discussion.</p><p>The $2.1 million road extension will lengthen Valhi Boulevard, which runs parallel to </p><p>La. 311, from its current dead end at South Hollywood Road to the south end of </p><p>Equity Boulevard. Parish officials have said it will be finished by year’s end. The </p><p>road will weave through two residental areas and a smaller area zoned for </p><p>commercial and industrial use.</p><p>At Monday’s council meeting, one of the extension project’s engineers spoke in </p><p>favor of the ban. </p><p>Arthur DeFraites Jr. said the plan is key to keeping the community attractive. </p><p>Otherwise, he said, all you’d see is a forest of huge, big billboards.</p><p>Erecting billboards involves four parties: the firm managing the billboards, the </p><p>company advertised, the owner who allows the structure on his property and the </p><p>parish, which regulates the deal and sets sign policy along parish roads. The state </p><p>controls the policy for state highways.</p><p>Chris Lindsay is general manager for Houma of the Baton Rouge-based Lamar </p><p>Advertising Co., which has about 300 billboard surfaces in the parish. He said </p><p>further restrictions would represent lost business for all four parties. </p><p>Rates for Lamar’s signs range from $100 to $1,000 per month.</p><p>Officials didn’t necessarily look at all the ramifications, he said.</p><p>Lindsay said the company would work with officials to adhere to any new </p><p>regulations adopted. </p><p>We’re not going to go stick a billboard at the entrance to a nice residential area, he </p><p>said. We stick to our rules and regulations.</p><p>In nearby Lafourche, there are no rules prohibitting billboards from specific roads, </p><p>said Deborah Moore, the parish’s permit coordinator. The parish does have </p><p>structural and permit requirements.</p><p>In Thibodaux, the signs are allowed in commercial zones. They are prohibited north </p><p>of Bayou Lafourche along North Canal Boulevard and between the road and bayou </p><p>in certain areas within the city limits.</p><p>Staff Writer Kathrine Schmidt can be reached at 857-2204 or kathrine.schmidt@houmatoday.com.</p>